Reunion
by Whia
Summary: A fictional account about what happens after the end of DoC. Life has gone back to normal, but his voice is still haunting him... Yes, it's yaoi. Completed ZackxCloud
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. If I did, Zack and Cloud would've gotten married and had twelve beautiful children! And Aerith would be a yaoi fangirl .

-----

_Reunion_

It had been three years since that rainy day. And still, nightmares of the scene flashed through his head. Sephiroth, who had been possessing Kadaj, had been defeated. The Geostigma had been cured, and peace was beginning to spread throughout Midgar. So why…? Why did he still wake up with fresh tears on his face after seeing the final breath leave that SOLDIER's body? He'd come to terms with it, hadn't he? He'd imagined them both walking away smiling together. He'd smiled, hadn't he?

The blonde-haired man sat up from his bed and blinked away another rain-soaked dream. _Grow up, Cloud. You're 24 now. It's time to move on._ This was his morning ritual: Wake up, pull away from the dream, convince himself to let it go, continue living. Maybe make a few deliveries. Looking around the room, he saw that Tifa's bed was already made. Anyone thinking that the two of them were together would only have to see this room to know the opposite. They never touched, they slept in separate beds: yes, they owned a delivery service, but that was all. Even though Tifa had feelings for him, he wouldn't- couldn't- return them. His heart was shattered, and the only one who could repair it was…

He put on his normal clothes, seeing a note from Tifa that he had some deliveries to make. A light sigh escaped from his lips. Life had become so routine… It was more of a hassle than anything else… Sometimes he just wanted… He brushed away the thought and got on his bike, the list in his pocket.

--

_How did I end up here? Wasn't I just in the room?_ he wondered once he realized he was back at that spot. His glowing eyes rested on the rusting buster sword he'd stuck in the ground. _Zack… I miss you still. It's never going to go away…_ he thought sadly. He kept the stoic look on his face, resting his hand on top of the sword's hilt. He couldn't look at the ground, couldn't afford another flashback. He was still too fragile to see that scene again. As it was, he could almost hear the rain that had been constantly falling that fateful day. Each imaginary drop bruised his heart almost unnoticeably.

"Zack…" he breathed, the name no more substantial than the wind it was spoken into. Cloud closed his eyes, lightly biting his lower lip as memories threatened to leak through the mental walls he'd built. "I wish you were here…" he added. He knew he thought this almost every day, but somehow being at the place where he'd watched Zack die gave it more meaning. He sighed, tired of the weight on his shoulders, and blinked a couple of times to put the world back in focus.

"Hey, Spikey."

He could've sworn his heart stopped at that moment. _Spikey? But only he…_ Mako-blue eyes closed. He'd gotten to the point where he was imagining _his_ voice even when he was awake? He caressed his suddenly-throbbing forehead with a gloved hand. "Maybe Tifa's right… Maybe I should get some help…" he muttered, his voice barely audible even for him. But he didn't want help. He just wanted _him_. Still wanted _him_. After all this time, the desire hadn't ebbed in the slightest. Even though his feelings only brought him pain, he couldn't bring himself to let them go.

"I don't see you for three years, and this is the treatment I get?" a familiar voice laughed as gloved hands clasped his upper arms and spun him around. The blonde barely felt anything though. His inner 'bad guy' radar hadn't gone off, so he wasn't on edge. That was until he saw the face that was now in front of him.

Those mako-eyes, somehow different than any other glowing eyes he'd ever seen. That wild mane of ebony hair, sharp to the eyes but soft to the skin. That small, x-shaped scar that he'd kissed so many times. It was the face he'd dreamed of for three years, the face he never thought he'd see again. _Zack?_ His eyes were wide and almost… disbelieving.

If he had been a younger, less world-weary man, he might have cried. As it was, seeing the face brought up a hurt too deep for him to even muster up the energy to break down. Instead, his eyes glossed over, a way of defense, and he stiffened. Though un-focusing his eyes blurred the face in front of him, in no way did it disappear. _Now I'm hallucinating. Fantastic._

"Cloud?" The blurry mouth moved, creating a small dark hole. "Cloud, why aren't you saying anything?" It was definitely _his_ voice. Zack Fair's voice. Zack Fair, whom Cloud had watched die three years ago.

He didn't even realize that the dark hole was expanding-covering the man's face, then the sky, then everything else. Everything was black. The only sound he heard was the rushing of blood behind his ears as his knees buckled.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Looks like someone's keeping up."_

"_Well, I'm a country boy too."_

"_From where?" the handsome, black haired SOLDIER asked him, a friendly smile on his features. Cloud couldn't understand how he could be so happy while it was so cold out. There was snow __everywhere__._

"_Niebelheim," the boy answered, easily keeping in step with the man's strides. He was glad the helmet hid his face, since a slight blush appeared on his cheeks when the SOLDIER's laugh sounded in the air. Curious to know more about him, he asked, "How about you?"_

"_Me? Gongaga."_

_The boy couldn't keep a small chuckle from coming out of his own mouth. He'd laughed at Niebelheim, when he came from a place called Gonaga? Where was the sense in that?_

"_Hey, what's so funny about that? You know Gongaga?" Though a little indignant, the SOLDIER's tone was still lighthearted as he pointed a few times at the young infantryman._

"_No, but… It's such a backwater name," Cloud retorted, happy to just be conversing with the other male. That, and his statement was true. Niebelheim wasn't any more rural than Gongaga, in any case._

"_Ditto Niebelheim." The man turned away, leaving a misty breath where his face had been._

No, wait, I still want to talk… _"Like you've been there." His tone was slightly surprised. No one ever went to Niebelheim. There really wasn't anything to see. Unless you liked looking at mako reactors. Of course, he could've passed through on a mission. But Cloud would've certainly remembered him, had that been the case._

"_I haven't." The SOLDIER turned around again, still smiling. It seemed his good humor was endless. "But there's a reactor there, right?" He stopped walking to fully face Cloud. "A mako reactor outside Midgar usually means-"_

_Feeling confident, the infantryman joined in with the SOLDIER's next words. "Nothing else out there." Their eyes locked and they shared a laugh. Cloud could feel a stirring in his heart, though he was sure that this feeling was one-sided._

_While he was still standing there with a blush on his face, the SOLDIER turned to face the group, which was still lagging behind them. "Good news, Tseng! Me and…" A blink and pause of realization passed over his face, and he turned to Cloud._

Is he asking for my name?_ Cloud thought, undoubtedly excited. Maybe the encounter had meant something to the other man as well. He took off his helmet, revealing his face. A smile was still evident on his face as he introduced himself. "Cloud."_

_Was he just imagining it, or did the black-haired man do a double-take once he saw him? Cloud could feel his heart skip a beat. The SOLDIER was so handsome… "Me and Cloud are both backwater experts!" he crowed, doing a triumphant motion. "Oh, yeah!"_

They really let dorks like this into SOLDIER?_ Cloud thought. He smiled, another redness not attributed to the cold spreading across his face._

_--_

_It had been a week since the end of the mission, where the SOLDIER's older friend, Angeal, was killed. Cloud had learned his name was Zack Fair. Zack Fair… The Shinra Guard found himself daydreaming during training, just repeating his name in his head over and over. And when he found out that he was taking Angeal's death so hard he hadn't left his room, Cloud decided it was up to him to make it better._

_He knocked on the SOLDIER's door (it had taken him a few days to find out where he lived), adjusting the bouquet he was holding in his hands. He'd found some daisies growing outside the training center, and thought they might help cheer up the older boy a little. Well, he hoped they would…_

_He waited for a few seconds. No answer. He wasn't really surprised. If his best friend had been killed, he wouldn't feel like answering the door either. One more knock. He glanced around shyly, imagining footsteps coming down the hallway. It would be really embarrassing to be caught giving flowers to a SOLDIER… Cloud had only spent a small amount of time with him, so he really didn't have a good reason for crushing on him so hard… There was just something about him the blonde boy couldn't ignore._

"_He's not coming…" he sighed. He set the bouquet down by the door, hoping that Zack would pick it up later, and still be cheered up. All that really mattered was that he felt better, right? Not that Cloud was the one to change his attitude._

_He'd convinced himself of this and had started to walk away when he heard the door open behind him. His face tinged red. Zack had opened his door, and Cloud was still right there. He heard the rustle of the SOLDIER's clothes as he bent down to pick up the bouquet. "Cloud? Are these…from you?" he asked, the boy frozen in front of him._

_Cloud turned around to face Zack, looked into his eyes for a moment, then got embarrassed and stared at the ground. "Yeah… I heard you were upset, and I wanted to cheer you up, sir…" he mumbled, memorizing the pattern of the carpet._

_There was a short pause, until Zack broke it with a question. "Do you want to come in?"_

_Cloud looked up from sheer surprise. Come in?? To a 1__st__ class SOLDIER's room?? He wasn't sure if he deserved the honor. Then he strengthened his resolve and nodded. Didn't he want to see where Zack lived? "Sure, I'll come in." As soon as Zack turned away, the blonde pressed a hand against his chest, willing his heartbeat to slow down. He reminded himself that he had no reason to be so happy that Zack was talking to him._

"_Cloud? You coming in?" Zack ruffled his hair a little, causing the sunshine-haired boy to blush again. He looked up at the taller boy, quickly pushing the sparkly, fluffy feeling inside of him._

"_Hey, watch your hands," he grumbled, swatting at the SOLDIER's hand playfully. Half of him was happy that he was actually joking around so quickly._

"_Sorry, sorry," Zack laughed a little. "Just come in, if you want your hair untouched."_

"_Was that a threat?"_

"_It could have been." A smile was still on Zack's face, though Cloud could see the bags under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't eaten very well for the last week. Deciding it wasn't really his place to ask why, he followed the SOLDIER in._

"_Where should I put these flowers? Hmm…"_

_As Zack wandered around, still holding the handful of flowers, Cloud looked at a small bedside table up against the wall. On it was a vase full of large, beautiful, white flowers. Cloud froze for a second. The flowers were tied with a white ribbon, like they had been presented as a gift. That, and a small card hung from the ribbon with the words 'With Love' shining on it. His small daisy bouquet seemed insignificant and even stupid in comparison, and his cheeks flushed in shame._

"_Zack, those flowers…" He trailed off as he saw Zack put the bouquet in a small vase of its own. Cloud had to admit, the vase was prettier than the larger one had been. He watched as the other boy looked for a decent place to set it, and then decided to put the vase and flowers beside the couch on a small table._

"_There we go. They make the whole room brighter, don't you think?" he asked, looking at Cloud._

"_Sir… The other flowers you have are prettier," Cloud mumbled in reply, still looking embarrassed by his meager offering._

_Zack's glowing eyes (which were gorgeous, Cloud thought) looked toward the other bouquet, then back at Cloud, the smile spreading. "Yes, but those weren't given to me by the one and only Cloud Strife: Country Boy."_

_At that, Cloud's heart soared so high he swore it hit the top of his head. He had to look away to hide the fact that his face went even redder. He barely knew Zack, and yet every word the SOLDIER said had this much of an effect on him? He needed to be careful._

"_I heard you were upset about your friend, so… I wanted to cheer you up," he murmured, his face still tomato-colored. As an afterthought, he added, "Sir."_

_Zack blinked at him. "You don't need to call me sir, Cloud. I'm barely any older than you are. It's just weird. Besides, soon we'll both be in the same rank in SOLDIER, and 'sir' will be even stranger."_

"_But I haven't even taken the test to get in."_

"_Yeah, but I told you-they let me in without much trouble, so you'll be fine." He smiled again. "Thanks for cheering me up. Do you want something to drink?"_

_--_

_All that training, for nothing. All those hours on guard duty, going on missions, practicing until his hands bled, meaningless. He knew it had to have been because of the mako injection test- he'd felt strange afterwards, but had been assured there wasn't a problem. That had to be a lie. No one would confirm it, but he knew. His physical examination had been perfect: after all, he'd trained harder than anyone else trying to get in. The thing that had barred his entrance to SOLDIER had been something he had no control over._

_Which meant that he was inherently weak. Something that surpassed the physical was just not strong enough to be SOLDIER material, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was weak, and always would be. _Cloud, you can't cry. That'll just mean you're even weaker than they think you are. Stop crying!_ he thought to himself. He was sitting on his bed with his knees drawn up to his chest, like he had been for about two hours, ever since he got The News._

_A light knock came on his door. Straightening up, he wiped off his face quickly. "Coming…" he mumbled, getting up off his bed. Hoping that his face wasn't red, he walked to the door and opened it. "Zack??" His eyes got wide._

_The SOLDIER was standing there with a comforting smile on his face. "Hey, how are you doing?" Cloud looked down a little and saw that Zack was holding a bouquet of flowers. For him. The SOLDIER-reject blinked a few times, then bit his lip when Zack messed with his hair again. "Hey, you're always so quiet. Tell me what's going through your head."_

If I tell you what's going through my head, you'll hate me_, he thought as he stepped away from to door to let Zack in. He and Zack had met up a few times since Angeal's death, and Zack had always told him he was strong enough to be a SOLDIER. Cloud had believed him; had believed him with his whole being. What would Zack do if Cloud would say that he was weak? He'd be disappointed, to say the least. Especially if he noticed the tearstains on the blonde boy's cheeks._

_Unfortunately for Cloud, the SOLDIER had just done that. "Cloud… Were you crying?" The tone in his voice was far from the disappointment he'd imagined; much more concerned. The black-haired boy set down the bouquet he held and touched Cloud's cheek, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "It's okay, I know it doesn't make sense. It's okay to cry."_

"_No, I wasn't." Cloud's surprised mind finally started working again. Zack was __touching__ his face. He'd never done that before. The blonde quickly told his heart to stop pounding so fast, or it would certainly give him away. He couldn't let Zack know that he liked him as more than just a friend, it would ruin everything they had…_

"_Cloud, I'm not going to think you're weak for crying. It's okay." There he went again, with soothing words that made the boy's heart ache. "I brought you some flowers, see? Just like you brought me; daises and everything." With a hopeful smile, the 1__st__ Class SOLDIER offered the flowers to the younger boy._

_Cloud couldn't keep the tears from falling then. It couldn't be helped- he was weak to the core, too weak to be honest with his friend to say how he felt, and too weak to get into SOLDIER. He failed to hide the tears from Zack, who quickly pulled him into a hug._

"_I'm sorry it hurts so much, kiddo. I wish you'd gotten in too. You should've gotten in." Zack pressed the boy's wet face into his shoulder, letting Cloud twist his fingers into his shirt. He then went on to rock him back and forth gently, all the while whispering comforting words into his ear._

_After a while, Cloud leaned his head away from Zack's shirt, though he could've been content inhaling the man's scent for quite some time longer. He looked up into the SOLDIER's mako-colored eyes and held his breath at the expression he saw there. It was so soft, so full of empathy that he almost began to cry again. Zack's face was beautiful; there was no getting around it._

_Their faces were a mere inch apart, when Zack's lips moved. "Hey, Cloud, I really should tell you something before you keep hugging me." Cloud was very still, not wanting to accidently move so their lips touched. Zack would probably hate him if that happened._

"_What is it?" he asked quietly, expecting the worst. What if he was going to tell Cloud that he should leave, that he shouldn't see him anymore? A sharp pain went through his chest as he realized that there was a huge possibility that Zack knew._

_The black-haired SOLDIER looked straight into the younger boy's eyes, a serious look on his face. "Cloud, I love you."_

_Cloud's eyes grew wide. There was no way he was hearing this, right? Zack couldn't actually… That bouquet he'd had in his room, the white flowers… Those had to have come from a girl; it was a girl's handwriting on the card. And he'd heard Zack talking about visiting a girl in the slums a few times. He couldn't like Cloud, could he? The blonde had to fight to keep from hugging him tight right there. It was almost too good to be true. But he had to at least let Zack finish talking before he replied._

"_Ever since I first met you, I knew that I wanted to be more than just your friend. And I know that you probably think I'm some kind of creep for coming out to a guy so honestly, and I'm sorry, but I thought you should-"_

_That's all the longer Cloud could wait. Impatiently, he tugged Zack's face down closer to his, frowning. "Why don't you stop apologizing and kiss me?"_


	3. Chapter 3

_They were happy, so happy. Cloud couldn't remember being this happy in his whole life, even though he didn't make it into SOLDIER. When he was with Zack, that didn't matter anymore. He found himself spending more and more time off in Zack's room, so much so that they unofficially lived together. They both had different missions, of course, and Cloud wasn't happy that they hadn't gone on a mission together since their first one, but he couldn't complain._

_He was reading a book on Zack's couch one day while Zack stroked his hair when Zack asked, "Cloud, what would you do if I told you I wanted to make love to you?" His voice was soft, unlike the playful tone he usually used._

_Cloud had to admit, the question took him by surprise. His face grew red without him knowing, and he looked up into the SOLDIER's mako-filled eyes. "You do?" he asked quietly. He couldn't believe it. Really? Cloud had never done that sort of stuff with anyone before, much less a guy._

_Zack nodded, a small smile on his face. The expression on Cloud's face must have been encouraging, or he would've brushed the question off as a joke. "Yeah, but only if you want to."_

_Cloud put down his book, taking good care to mark the page he was reading. He then turned so he was facing Zack and slung his arms around the man's neck. "I do want to, Zack. With you." His gaze was full of trust, and for good reason. Zack had never done anything to hurt him, and he knew this was no different._

_The smile on Zack's face grew more secure as he leaned in to plant a kiss on Cloud's lips. "I love you, Cloud."_

"_I love you, too, Zack." The moment he said those words, he knew there would be no one else in this world he could ever love as much as he did Zack. The man was irreplaceable._

_--_

"_Ah! Zack, it hurts…" Cloud moaned, his eyes squeezed shut._

_Zack planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry, babe. Just relax, I swear it gets better." His face was red as he strained to keep from moving too much before Cloud could adjust himself._

_Cloud, breathing hard, tried to relax. He grasped Zack's hand tightly and opened one eye to look up at the man on top of him. Even at this moment, the SOLDIER's feelings for Cloud and concern for his well-being took top priority over his own pleasure. That fact alone helped the blonde relax a little. He took a short breath and kissed Zack softly. "Okay… I think I'm better…"_

_Zack nodded and kissed him with more passion this time. "Get ready, love. This is going to feel good, I promise. I want you to…" He couldn't help but let a small moan slip out from between his perfect lips. "I want you to feel good."_

_And with that, words disappeared, and all they knew was the other as the world fell away._

_--_

"_Wow, these stars…" Cloud sighed, leaning back on his hands. He and Zack were outside the city lines, far enough away that the night sky was visible. The blonde had never seen stars like this before, even in Niebelheim. Maybe they were prettier because he was watching them with the one he loved._

_Zack held him close and nuzzled his hair, causing Cloud to blush a little. "Yeah, they're great, aren't they?" His voice was soft, and Cloud could hear the smile in it._

_He nodded his reply, not wanting to talk too much and ruin the moment. It had been almost a week since they'd seen each other, and he just wanted to be in the SOLIDER's presence._

"_Cloud, I'm going to have to go on another mission pretty soon," the man holding him said softly. "I don't know how long I'm going to be gone…"_

_Cloud's heart stopped for a few seconds. So soon? But he'd just gotten back… He looked up at Zack with heartbroken blue eyes. Every time Zack left on a mission, he worried so much…_

_Zack frowned at the look on his face. "Cloud, babe, I'll come back as soon as I can, honey. I'm sorry."_

_Cloud looked down again. "I know."_

"_Spikey, hey…" Zack tilted his chin up to look into his eyes. "I promise you I'll come back. I won't leave you alone. I'd never do that."_

_Cloud nodded, his heart filling up again. "Okay, Zack. I believe you." He smiled a little. "I promise that to you too."_

_Zack leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss, and everything was alright._

_--_

_When had it started to rain?_

_He'd been sitting there for years. Or was it only a few seconds? He didn't know._

_He didn't know anything: How he got there, where the other was, where he was, who he was._

_But _he_ wasn't there. And he had to find _him_._

_Struggling to make his lead limbs move. Scraping his skin against sharp rocks and not noticing._

_There _he_ was. Laying in crimson and soaked with rain. He slowly dragged himself to a sitting position. "Zack…" he breathed, barely able to get his eyes to focus on _him_._

_The _black-haired man_ was having trouble breathing. He didn't understand why. "For the… both of us…" he managed to say._

_He had to repeat the words to himself, just to know what they meant. "Both… of us…?"_

"_That's right… You're gonna…" What was the red on _his_ face?_

_It was so hard to understand what was going on. "You're gonna…"_

_Suddenly he was falling forward. Why was he-What was going on-there was something warm on his face. "Live." He didn't move. What was going on? "You'll be… My living legacy…" A pressure receded from the back of his head and he found himself sitting up again. The warm was still on his face, and he fought to comprehend what it was. It was crimson, like the puddle surrounding them. Why was it raining?_

_He heard something dragging along the ground, and he watched it, unmoving. "My honor… my dreams…" The sword stopped in front of him. What? What was this? He was starting to feel sad. "They're yours now." _He_ was speaking slowly, knowing that he couldn't understand well._

_He reached out slowly and took the hilt of the sword. Why was it so heavy? Oh. It was a big sword. _He_ pushed it against him to make sure he took it. Slowly, slowly, he started to understand what was going on. "I'm… your living… legacy…"_

He_ closed_ his_ eyes, a smile on _his _face. And lay still._

_Zack? Zack??_ _He wanted to shake _him_ awake. To open_ his_ eyes. He wanted _him_ to be okay. Be okay._

_We're friends, right?_

_I won't leave you alone. I'd never do that._

_He looked up at the rainy sky, his heart breaking into 1000 pieces. A painful scream tore out of his throat. He emptied his lungs, unable to sob like he truly wanted to. Like _he_ deserved him to. Why wasn't his body working right? He couldn't even mourn _him_ the way he should._

_Zack!__ Why… Why not me? I should've… Couldn't… Why??_

_The next thing he knew, the sun was shining. His legs finally worked and he stumbled upward. Not knowing what to say, not wanting to admit to the awful truth of it, he whispered, "Goodnight, Zack." He couldn't bring himself to say goodbye._


	4. Chapter 4

-x-

His head hurt from the rush of suppressed memories. He'd held them back so well for so long… Well, not really. But he'd only let himself remember _his_ death, as a way of repentance. He'd even tried not to think Zack's name; that was too painful for him. But all the details had flooded back into him: Their first date. The night they'd both slept outside, away from Midgar, just so they could watch the stars together. The picnic they'd had when Zack got back from a particularly long mission. The time he'd tried to teach Zack how to cook, and they ended up making love in the kitchen. The night they'd spent together at the Niebelheim Inn… Soon after that, though, memories blurred.

But it was the clear memories that had hurt him the most. The happy ones, where he and Zack were closer than two human beings had ever been before. Cloud could hardly bear the knowledge that he had been the reason for Zack's death. If only he'd been stronger…

"Cloud… wake up, please. Waiting for you to open your eyes is kil-driving me crazy." A rough hand gently brushed his cheek. Instinctively, the blonde man turned his face into the touch, like he had done so many times when he was younger.

Then he remembered whose touch it was. His eyes snapped open, and he looked straight into Zack Fair's face. It was a bit older than he remembered it, and for good reason. It had been three years, after all. His hair was longer, for one. And he had a bit of stubble on his face. Cloud stiffened, unable to accept the fact that this man was alive and touching him.

"Why…Why are you here?" he asked quietly, his eyes narrowing a little. He had to admit it; he was angry. If Zack had been alive all this time, where had he been? Why hadn't he been with Cloud all this time? Had he just taken advantage of the fact that Cloud thought he was dead? What if he'd seen other guys, or even girls?

Zack sighed and ran a hand through his wild hair, and try as he might to ignore it, Cloud couldn't pretend that he didn't want to touch the ex-SOLDIER's hair too. "It's a long story… Honestly, you have every right to be angry, Cloud. I should've come sooner. But please, let me explain before you look at me like you hate me." His glowing eyes looked sadly down at him.

Cloud sat up so he could pay more attention to the black-haired man's words. When Zack had said his name, he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying. He'd been pushing his emotions away for three years, but merely being in the presence of this man had brought all of those feelings coming back in a torrent. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'll listen." He wondered if Zack could tell the difference in his voice: he had changed, matured, and his voice echoed that.

The ex-SOLDIER breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Cloud, the only reason I didn't come sooner is that I didn't remember. I had been unconscious for so long by the time they rescued me, I had lost all of my memories. As it was, I was asleep for almost a year before I woke up. It was a miracle I did." His eyes implored Cloud to understand him.

Cloud listened as he explained that he was taken in by the family that ran the inn at Kalm, completely unaware of what his previous life had been. The couple that had cared for him had named him 'Wildz,' because of his hair. _How many times have I stayed at that inn?_ he wondered, trying to keep his jaw from dropping.

"But I kept having these dreams, Cloud. I realize now that they were memories, but I didn't know what the hell they were then. There was a lot of fighting, and walking, and then there was… This blonde… I couldn't see his face, but for some reason the dreams I had of him were my favorite. I thought he was an angel.

"And then, about a month ago the town was attacked." The black-haired man closed his eyes like he was seeing the scene again behind his eyelids. "There was nothing any of us could do, and the inn was almost destroyed. A bunch of us were rebuilding the inn when the roof collapsed on top of us…"

Cloud watched as he flinched a little at the memory. He definitely looked and acted just like Zack did, but… Cloud had watched Zack die. This man talking to him, claiming to be Zack, just couldn't… There was no way he could be the one Cloud had been wishing for.

"When I woke up, I remembered it all: Being in SOLDIER, fighting Sephiroth, escaping from the lab, everything." He looked straight into the blonde's eyes. "Most importantly, I remembered you, Cloud. My blonde angel. Ever since I remembered, I've been trying to find you. And today… Today I did." An ecstatic smile crossed his features.

Cloud wanted to believe him, he really did. His entire heart implored him to believe the man in front of him. But he couldn't. "You don't understand… I watched you-I watched Zack die," he answered quietly for fear of his voice breaking. Even to this day, he didn't like to admit it. "I was there… There's no way…"

"Cloud." The man's face was solemn, and he put his hands on the hero's shoulders. "I _promised_ you I wouldn't leave you alone. And I meant it. It took me a long time- it took me much too long to come back to you, but I would never… I would never, ever break a promise to you."

Cloud was practically gnawing off his own lip to keep himself from crying. He was too old to let that kind of emotion show. But the man's words had convinced him of his identity, for only Zack knew of that secret pledge he'd made. They had been alone, and had never told another soul.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. Please, believe me," Zack pleaded, his eyes softening. "I love you, Cloud."

"_I love you, Cloud."_

"_I love you, too, Zack." The moment he said those words, he knew there would be no one else in this world he could ever love as much as he did Zack. The man was irreplaceable._

As the brief memory floated through his mind, Cloud finally let the walls drop. Before he knew what he was doing, he had pulled Zack close to him, his eyes overflowing like they'd been asking to for so long. "I…I love you, t-too, Zack…" he managed around the sobs now wracking his body.

He was too embarrassed to look at him. What kind of man in his mid-twenties breaks down sobbing like that? Zack probably thought that he hadn't matured at all in three years. He covered his face as emotions overtook him. For all these years, he'd thought he was the cause of his lover's death, and now… It wasn't true. He still had to contend with Aeris's death, but his heart could rest knowing that he hadn't caused Zack's death…

Large hands pulled him forward, and he could feel Zack's heartbeat. "I'm sorry, Cloud. I won't make you cry again. Now that I'm here, I'm not letting you go. Ever."

Cloud didn't mind that thought at all.

_Fin._


End file.
